PlayStation.Blog

RIDGE RACER for PS Vita Drifting Around the Corner on March 13th with Free DLC

My fellow Ridge Racing elite, how are you? Those of you that have been following along on the PlayStation Blog know that we at NAMCO BANDAI Games have been very active here with updates on our titles for the PlayStation Vita, including Touch My Katamari and Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen. But, as many of you have been asking me, what’s up with RIDGE RACER? It’s out in Japan, and my friends in Europe are already racing… but when are we finally going to get behind the wheel, and when exactly in the ‘Launch Window’ are we going to hit the road with Reiko again? WHAT’S THE DEAL!?

We know, we know. Launch days and RIDGE RACER usually are one and the same, and while our friends abroad are already racing, the teams have been taking every ounce of feedback into consideration for a full-throttle launch in North America. Thankfully, today we can confirm that the game will officially become available in on March 13th for $29.99 at retail and $24.99 for digital download from the PlayStation Store.

As a token of appreciation for our most dedicated fans of RIDGE RACER’s classic beauty and blistering speed, NAMCO BANDAI Games America has decided to offer a free DLC pack for everyone picking up the game at launch and while supplies last. Fans who buy the retail version of RIDGE RACER for PS Vita will find a code inside the box for a free ‘RIDGE RACER Gold Pass’ which unlocks a wealth of extra DLC content completely for free. The same Gold Pass is also available for free to all fans who purchase the digital version of the game on PlayStation Network no later than April 30, 2012.

What exactly is in this pack? How about five free additional machines, three courses, and extra pieces of pumping background music to take you across the finish line?

On top of this, fans worldwide should be happy to hear that upon the North American launch date, RIDGE RACER will be updated with an improved frame rate and crisper graphics for an even faster racing experience than ever before.

That won’t be the end of the expanding world of content on PS Vita for RIDGE RACER either. In April, we’ll be releasing more content in our ‘RIDGE RACER Silver Pass’ which will allow fans to access even more cars and courses at one low price. Stay tuned to this page on our website for details on the dates when all of this content will become available.

Sound easy enough? It is. Landing a boost around a hairpin turn while racing against seven other players from across the globe from a Wi-Fi ready flight headed from London to Las Vegas? Not so easy… but now it’s entirely possible now thanks to the handy work of the team of veterans at Cellius and Namco Bandai Games Inc, along with the power of the PlayStation Vita.

The teams at NAMCO BANDAI Games can’t thank the fans enough for their patience and their feedback, and we look forward to going head to head with all of you on March 13th. We’ll see you on the road on launch day, and I challenge you all to take me down during launch week. Look for me online PSN ID: FilthieRich, and I DARE YOU to take me down. See you on the courses!

I have raced in all game modes, but haven’t unlocked the trophy for doing so. Is it bugged or is there more game modes on the way? And nobody seems to be able to unlock the secret trophies either. Are they tied to future DLC?

#2: The game is cheap and is by design made to build on that with DLC. It’s just a different pricing model than most other games. The game is really awesome. I played 35 hours of it the 1st week it launched in EU.

Bleah… still don’t like NAMCO BANDAI or was it BANDAI NAMCO (look at their logo, its written the other way around!!!) releasing this as a INCOMPLETE game and then “releasing” the rest of the game in chunks. It reeks in greedy tactics. In fact, I would not be at all surprised if later on we find out that the entire game code (that is all cars, all tracks, etc) is already part of the game code when either you download it or buy the physical media version. They simply release unlock 100KB codes as they please.

Been a huge fan of Namco and Ridge Racer, but ever since the Bandai merger, this company has been decaying in quality and honesty. Bandai games always sucked by releasing unfinished games at full price, they are bringing Namco down to their level. What a shame.

This game exemplifies exactly what’s wrong with the industry today. If you purchase this game and support these developers, you’re contributing to a sickening trend of selling customers an incomplete game and charging extra for the rest in the form of downloadable content months, maybe years down the road. DLC is nothing new, but Ridge Racer takes it to extreme levels. Out of the box, even with this “Free DLC,” you’ll have fewer vehicles and tracks than what you would and should have received in the first place with other retail racing games. If you want to get a full game’s worth of content, expect to purchase multiple DLCs and spend more in the long run than you would for a one-time $40 or $50 purchase.

Join the 21st century already you guys. This is a freemium game, everyone knows it, and the sooner the change the game’s price to reflect that the sooner you’ll make actual money on it. All you’re doing now is exploiting early adopters and the ever-shrinking number of ridge fans.

This game is an insult to the intelligence of humanity. What’s sad is that by looking at some of the positive posts here, I see it’s working. It’s pathetic that a game so hollow could even exist as anything other than freeware, and the developers should be ashamed of themselves for trying to take advantage of those who don’t know any better. Free DLC is just a ruse to get you to buy the game thinking you are getting something extra, when really it’s still an incomplete game WITH the DLC included.

Gotta agree with the last few posters, this is still a scam and I’ll vote no with my dollars. If you really want to play Ridge Racer on your Vita, just grab the PSP version, which is cheaper and has more content than the Vita release.

If Namco decides to re-release with all content packed into the game, then I’ll open my wallet.

Screw that! Namco has taken DLC and “online passes” to a new low. I *might* pick the game up once it hits $9.99 on PSN, but even then, I probably won’t. I can’t believe Sony is endorsing such a sham of a release.

Could Rich kindly post what’s included in the RR Vita package for those who don’t purchase the game at launch and get the “RIDGE RACER Gold Pass”? I believe it’s something like 5 cars and 3 tracks???

I agree with most comments. Sure I would Like to have and Play Ridge Racer on my Vita. However day one DLC is a scam. It had to have been planned from the beginning of the developement of the game, or some executive asked you to make DLC and either
A.) you made some more stuff
B.) you pulled stuff out
My bet is on B. It is a shame the way games are being made and marketed.

Online gaming is cool, but at what cost? It has ruined the developement and marketing of games. Day one DLC, GamePatchs (becuase they can now release a buggy game and fix it post launch), Online Passes.

Thanks for the update Rich but I just don’t know about this one. I LOVE the RR series but even with the free DLC this $30 game only has 6 tracks and 10 cars, which is pretty paltry when compared to other entries in the series. Not to mention your not the only racer in town on Vita. Wipeout launched with 14 tracks (10 were new) and alot more vehicles. Maybe if the game was $19.99 with the free DLC or if you made the Silver pack free as well, the Vita is not iOS, PlayStation owners expect full games.

Hey, Rich, seriously, do you guys want people to buy Tales of Graces f or what? The only way I even know the game is coming out (in two weeks) is because you have been updating the Facebook page. Apparently you haven’t been sending those screenshots to media outlets either. I’m worried that you guys are sending that game out there to die. Please post something about it here at least. And confirm whether or not it includes the original Japanese audio. Thanks.

This game looks incredibly childish and if this is a racing game why? Oh why, is every single car pictured above drifting around the corner any sensible racer (I play GT5 40 A-Spec, 40 B-Spec) knows that the fastest way around a corner is certainly not drifting (I’m sure all the kiddies will like this game) but in fact drifting eats up your tires and you go slower through the corner overall. I was interested in buying this game until I just realized it’s another childish arcade racing game there’s already plenty of those guess I should just wait for Polyphony to come out with a PS Vita specific Gran Turismo with realistic racing, awesome graphics and with real-life racetracks.

So is the game really complete WITHOUT the DLC? or you are just going to realease an incomplete game that will later be completed?
Oh forget it I see only 6 tracks and 10 cars, well definitely an incomplete game, no thank you, I’m done with developers trying to screw us gamers

i love racing games, but never cared for the ridge racer series and their fictitious rides and the music… im sure itll look great on the Vita, i think ill wait for a solid Need for Speed game on the system… id hold out for a Gran Turismo on Vita, but id probably be holding my breath for a long time waiting on that…

So the whole thing together comes down to 8 courses and 8 cars. Considering the excellent PSP version came with 12 cars and that this game will be $10 (or $14) cheaper than a normal $40 retail game, that’s not a totally bad value. But it’s not a good deal either. The game should have came with the DLC to begin with.

Ok Namco, you sold me. Over and above the extra content for the US release you are fixing the frame rate! Even RR on PSP ran at 60FPS so this had me worried. Finally, I have to say that this is a good deal. Thanks for listening to your Fans Namco…we are the ones who keep that IP going. Now, give us some brand new tracks that weren’t in the last 4 releases and I’ll be pleased as punch :)

This is just like what they did with Ridge Racer for the iPhone. Release a game with only 3 tracks and charge for stuff that should have already been in the game. If it wasn’t for the dlc being free I would not by it. To be honest I loved Ridge Racer for the PSP and was thinking of buying it again but it cost 15 dollars for a psp game that is 7 years old. I think Namco and Sony need to check there pricing practices because this is why they will be at the mercy of retailers like gamestop forever.